Endangered AY
This morning the Times has a couple articles about Atlantic Yards that more or less boil down to the following: Aspects of the mega-project aside from the Nets arena are likely to be delayed or go unrealized; Forest City Ratner has not been able to lure an anchor tenant to Miss Brooklyn, his planned office…
This morning the Times has a couple articles about Atlantic Yards that more or less boil down to the following: Aspects of the mega-project aside from the Nets arena are likely to be delayed or go unrealized; Forest City Ratner has not been able to lure an anchor tenant to Miss Brooklyn, his planned office tower; and Frank Gehry’s overarching vision for AY will be severely compromised if all that’s built is the arena. In one article, Charles Bagli includes snippets of an interview with Bruce Ratner in which the developer concedes that construction of Miss Brooklyn will not begin until a tenant has been secured for the office tower; Bagli also notes that the three residential towers surrounding the arena, which are slated to have 1,000 units of housing—including many affordable units—may not happen anytime soon, since developers are finding financing harder to come by. Ratner still sounds cautiously optimistic about the first phase of AY, though. It’s not going to happen in a nanosecond, he tells the Times. I hope it’s not going to be drawn out. I’d hope that the first residential building will be done within six months of the opening of the arena, and a second one a year after that. In the second article, architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff says the possibility that all we’ll be left with is a Nets arena “feels like a betrayal of the public trust.” Ouroussoff calls on Frank Gehry to walk away from the entire development: “by pulling out he would be expressing a simple truth: At this point the Atlantic Yards development has nothing to do with the project that New Yorkers were promised. Nor does it rise to the standards Mr. Gehry has set for himself during a remarkable career.”
Slow Economy Likely to Stall Atlantic Yards [NY Times]
What Will Be Left of Gehry’s Vision for Brooklyn? [NY Times]
Ratner Admits Major AY Delays, Rising Arena Cost [AY Report]
Miss Brooklyn & Housing to Die as Arena Lives? [GL]
Bullet Points of Bagli Article [No Land Grab]
Photo by threecee.
guest at March 22, 2008 4:08 PM
Just another list of negatives.
get off your ass and do something.
AY appears to be on the way out. There will be no stadium without the housing aspect. Ratner used that as a lure to get political support. Anyone who wanted to see this coming years ago could have. ACORN and other community groups need to do some major introspection and ask themselves why they sell themselves so cheaply and are so easily had. I hope they are enjoying those few jobs and office space in downtown Brooklyn – that is all they are going go get.
The WHAT is on point. I read the site just to see his comments.
Al
“i don’t disagree with your observation. but if not ratner then who? i’m looking for a specific realistic answer, not something that just sounds nice.”
Extell recently said that its bid for the Vanderbilt Railyards was serious, which I consider a specific realistic answer. Of course, the situation in the financial markets has changed recently.
…But I have a feeling that you’re not going to like that answer. My preference was well represented by the UNITY plan, which is to get multiple developers for different parts of the area.
The Atlantic Yards footprint was determined by Ratner, not by a transparent process. In other words, the developer said “jump,” and the ESDC said “how high?” I would like to see a development plan that’s based on the needs of Brooklyn, not of a private interest. Ideally, a plan that serves the interest of the public would also be profitable for a developer.
But it’s important to remember that Ratner has not finalized his bid for the Vanderbilt Railyards. It’s still officially MTA property.
So to give a full answer your question, I would need to know what area you are considering.
“BrooklynLove, if you really want a project built, then it’s time to realize that Ratner is not the only one to do it.”
i don’t disagree with your observation. but if not ratner then who? i’m looking for a specific realistic answer, not something that just sounds nice.
i think that the economic return for a developer here could be great, but frankly none seem to be seriously interested, at least at this point. maybe the move is to pitch the hudson yards bidders.
“BrooklynLove, if you really want a project built, then it’s time to realize that Ratner is not the only one to do it.”
i don’t disagree with your observation. but if not ratner then who? i’m looking for a specific realistic answer, not something that just sounds nice.
i think that the economic return for a developer here could be great, but frankly none seem to be seriously interested. maybe the move is to pitch the hudson yards bidders.
I think BrooklynLove sums up the DDDb position nicely at 7:43 pm:
“the yards are screaming for large scale grand development of this nature – nexus of max transit, nexus of major thoroughfares, nexus of multiple neighborhoods, major cultural institution, one of brooklyn’s most destinctive landmarks (wsb).”
DDDb was the organization that found the highest bidder for the Vanderbilt Railyards, and the DDDb-crowd has spent years developing the UNITY plan, which fulfills BrooklynLove’s dream of a grand development.
Bruce Ratner succeeded in creating massive controversy and getting $55 Million (and counting) of taxpayer to tear down existing properties without building a thing. Given that many other developers have succeeded in building large projects in Brooklyn, Ratner seems to be failing where others have figured out how to build.
BrooklynLove, if you really want a project built, then it’s time to realize that Ratner is not the only one to do it.
In any case, I’m glad that you agree with DDDb in supporting something great at the site.
open lots make great neighborhood garden plots.
the bubble has just popped. true.
now the fun begins!
The bubble has popped. It is raining balloon debris.